Peaboy

Nick Licata replied to me last week about the bag fee and styrofoam ban.

Thank you for writing me about the 20 cent bag fee, and styrofoam container ban.

Although I was out of town during the final Council vote, I supported the Council’s action since I was successful in having language included in the legislation that required Seattle Public Utilities to report back to the Council by November 25 for ensuring access and deployment of reusable bags to low-income people, including those living in Seattle Housing Authority housing and other low-income and senior housing facilities.

Sincerely,

Nick Licata

Richard replied, he's a sponsor so he's on our side for sure.

Thank you very much for your support for my legislation banning styrofoam and placing a fee on disposable bags. I developed this idea as part of my Zero Waste initiative a year ago, and it is great to see that it has caught on and now has overwhelming support in the community!

The Environment, Emergency Management, and Utilities committee will vote both ordinances out of committee on July 22 and I anticipate a vote in full Council on July 28. Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of people like you, I believe that both the foam and bag ordinances will not only pass, but do so unanimously. Congratulations to you for your part in this victory for a clean and healthy environment and a sustainable Seattle!

In the coming months, Seattle Public Utility will refine their plans for implementation. One of my primary objectives in this process is to ensure that this proposal not place a significant burden on seniors and other people on fixed incomes, food bank customers, and other recipients of direct assistance.

Although the transition to new practices will undoubtedly take some time for grocery stores, restaurants, and consumers to adjust to the new system, we are confident that the program will be a success.

Thanks again for your support.

Sincerely,

Richard Conlin

Another reply from last week (sorry) Richard is also generally supportive of the proposals but plans to offer amendments that I highlight in bold. I think we're headed toward a compromise, here's Richard McIver's full reply.

You are among a large number of citizens who have emailed me to register support for the proposed 20 cent fee for plastic and paper grocery bags and a prohibition on Styrofoam food containers. Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) estimates 360 million disposable bags are used in the city every year, most made of plastic. They estimate that charging this modest fee for these specific grocery disposable bags will be cut by 70% or more, preventing the manufacture of 184 million bags per year.

The proposed ban on Styrofoam containers used by the food service industry would include such items as “clamshells,” plates, trays, and hot and cold beverage cups used at restaurants, delicatessens, fast food outlets, and coffee shops, and meat trays and egg cartons used at grocery stores. The legislation would also require all food service businesses to convert to compostable or locally recyclable disposable containers by July 1, 2010.

I support the goal of reducing the quantity that these items being added to our solid waste stream, or the litter generated by them. I also suspect that we will see cities across the nation adopting similar policies in the near future. I do, however, have some reservations and want to be sure the Council is taking enough time to fully explore ramifications and alternatives, both to consumers and businesses.

I am concerned about the impact of the bag fee on low income individuals and families, and intend to offer an amendment that would exempt food stamp recipients from having to pay the fee. (However, I certainly support the distribution of reusable bags to this population group so that they too can help us eliminate the unnecessary use of disposable bags.)

While I support switching to non-Styrofoam food containers, I am concerned about a blanket prohibition on the use of Styrofoam meat trays and whether there are really any satisfactory and affordable sanitary substitute products available to grocers. As such, I intend to offer an amendment to the ordinance that would exempt Styrofoam meat trays (not other Styrofoam products) for two additional years while the grocery industry continues to work at finding a suitable sanitary and affordable alternative. I am concerned about both the public safety and aesthetic issues associated with blood seepage from meat products.

I think it is very likely the Council will approve this proposal, and I would hope that my concerns will be addressed and that I will vote in favor. Be assured I will keep your comments in mind as the debate progresses.

Richard J. McIver
Seattle City Council

She replied a week ago, I'm just a slacker in posting here reply. She brings up similar points to other council members regarding the foam ban. In general I think there is some concern about meat tray and tack out dishes. The thing that is weird to me is that I remember when all the take out I had as a kid was paper. Don't know why now that's impossible.

Here is Sally Clark's reply:

Thank you for your email about the proposal to place a 20 cent fee on plastic and paper bags at grocery stores, along with a phased-in ban on non-recyclable food containers (e.g. Styrofoam). Sorry for the mass-email response, but I've received a quite a few emails on the topic. This is the fastest way to get a response back to everyone.

I am co-sponsoring both pieces of legislation and am looking forward to the bills coming to a vote in the weeks ahead.

I'm aware that the over-all impact of the bag fee will be less than other actions we need to take to stem climate change impacts, but I do think it's a significant step toward decreasing Seattle's hunger for plastic bags. Currently, we dispose of more than 360 million bags per year. It's estimated that the switch will save 4,000 tons of greenhouse gas per year -- the equivalent of taking 665 cars off the road. All the money collected by the city (a small portion stays with the stores for administrative costs) will go toward waste prevention, recycling, city cleanup and environmental education programs. The City owes you at least one free cloth bag. I'm committed to getting more free bags into people's hands, especially low-income people who count every penny.

Along with the bag fee comes a ban on non-recyclable food containers. This one may be harder to institute because of a lack of substitutes in some cases, but I think we can phase in the change. Some restaurants are already making the transition. If the City Council votes to implement the ban, restaurants have a year in which to transition to recyclable to-go containers. Some of these new containers are corn-based, which presents its own set of environmental concerns, but, overall, this is a step forward. The biggest challenge I've heard about so far relates to packaging meat and finding a Styrofoam replacement that won't act like an over-soaked sponge. I trust the market will respond to the demand for a Styrofoam substitute, but we may have to phase in the ban over time if we can’t find a reasonable substitute.

Some of you have written that the bag fee and Styrofoam ban aren't the right approach or are over-reaching. If climate change weren't such an urgent issue I would agree that these proposals shouldn't be brought up. However, I think this is one of many changes that make sense when we calculate the real cost of waste.

Again, thank you for your message and for taking the time to advocate for sustainability in Seattle. The City Council is currently reviewing the details of the legislation in the Environment, Emergency Management & Utilities Committee, and I'll be looking forward to it coming to full Council for a vote in the near future. Please contact me anytime regarding this issue or other city matters.

Sincerely,

Sally

Sally J. Clark
Seattle City Council
600 Fourth Ave., 2nd Floor
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98104-1860
sally.clark@seattle.gov

I'm just listening to the speech, but that is the jist of it watch it on You Tube

Jean Godden has a clear and articulate message supporting the proposals.

Dear Friend,

Thank you for writing me in support of the Disposable Bag and Polystyrene Foam Ban Proposals. It is gratifying to hear from constituents advocating for issues critical to Seattle’s livability and sustainability. Please forgive this group response. I wanted to get back to everyone who emailed me as soon as possible.

Throughout my time as a Seattle City Councilmember I have wholeheartedly supported efforts to reduce waste generated in the city. My support has extended to the expansion of recycling efforts to apartment buildings and commercial establishments and to the implementation of programs for the collection of yard waste, food waste, and compostable materials.

The Green Fee and Foam Ban Proposal is one more way to advocate for the environment and to act on my concern for waste reduction. It is high time Seattle stop looking for new ways to manage and finance our mounting waste and instead find ways to reduce waste generation.

I support this legislation not only for its positive environmental impact but also because of its well thought out implementation plan. It is during the year-long transition period provided in this legislation that I hope to ensure an economically viable and safe move towards positive change for both businesses and residents. I recognize that change may be difficult, but I am enthusiastic about taking this necessary step together, as a city, towards reducing both waste generation and the costs of disposing waste.

Thank you again for the time and effort you are investing in supporting livability in Seattle. Be assured that your interests will be a part of my final deliberations on this legislation. As always, feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance on this or other issues.

My regards,

Jean Godden
Seattle City Councilmember
Seattle City Hall

Physical address: 600 4th Ave, Fl 2, Seattle, WA Mailing address: PO Box 34025, Seattle, WA 98124
Website: http://www.seattle.gov/council/godden/

I got a reply from Bruce Harrell today, and to be honest. I'm not too happy with it. When I tell someone "Hey thanks for the input" that's code for I disagree with you but I don't want to get into an argument. I'm not sure if that is what Bruce is saying, we'll have to see how he votes. Here's his reply:

Thank you for contacting me to express your opinion of the proposed twenty cent charge on the use of plastic bags, and the proposed ban of polystyrene. I share and appreciate your concern of our natural environment, and understand the importance of this issue. When this is before the Full Council for discussion and vote, I will take your concerns under advisement.

Thank you again for contacting me. I appreciate the fact that you have taken the time to provide me with your input.

Sincerely,

Bruce A. Harrell
Seattle City Councilmember

Chair: Energy and Technology Committee
Vice Chair: Public Safety, Human Services and Education
Member: Housing and Economic Development Puget Sound Regional Council Executive Board Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Policy Board King County Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee

I got a very prompt (less than an hour) response from Tim Burgess (ok his office) regarding my support for the Green Fee and Foam Ban Proposal. They obviously have a canned reply but its well written and I appreciated the reply to know he's on board. I guess actually he's driving the garbage truck so to speak since he did co-sponsor the bills. Here's his reply (yes, they can't spell Styrofoam (tm), that's cute):

Thank you for writing me with your support of the "Green Fee" proposal, and the styrafoam ban.

I have co-sponsored these bills, along with several of my colleagues. This initiative will help dramatically reduce the 360,000,000 disposable bags used in the city each year. The 20-cent fee will be charged at the check-out counter when shoppers choose to use paper or plastic bags. The fee can be avoided by using reusable shopping bags. The legislation, which will be considered by the Council in May and June, will also ban the use of Styrofoam containers in the city.

The city will provide at least one reusable bag to every Seattle household at the beginning of the program, and some of the plastic and paper bag use fees will be set aside to provide additional reusable bags to the city's lowest income residents.

This is an excellent program that relies on market forces to achieve a highly desirable goal. This program advances our planet-saving efforts and demonstrates Seattle's environmental leadership. We will be the first city in the country to use this market-driven strategy to nearly eliminate the use of plastic and paper shopping bags.

The bag fee coupled with the strafoam ban will bring us that much closer to reaching our zero waste goal.

I've blogged about this topic at www.timburgess.com.

Tim Burgess
Seattle City Council
Chair, Public Safety, Human Services, and Education Committee

July 8, 2008 the city will be holding a public comment meeting regarding the Green Fee and Foam Ban Proposals. In a nut shell these proposals would add a 20 cent fee for not having your own bags at the checkout and would ban throw away non-recyclable, non-compostable expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) containers and cups in food service (cups, containers, meat trays at the grocery store, etc.)

If you can't attend the meeting (really who can and email works) Contact the representatives by emailing them (send individual emails).

Here's what I'm sending, feel free to make it your own:

Dear Councilmember,

I am aware that on July 8, 2008 a hearing for public comment will be held regarding the Green Fee and Foam Ban Proposals. I am unable to attend that meeting but wanted to take the time to speak out in support of the Green Fee and Foam Ban Proposal. Reducing the stream of waste that enters our landfills by encouraging the use of reusable bags and compostable and\or reusable food containers is not only good for the environment but fiscally responsible in our efforts to reduce the costs of managing the waste stream.

I look forward to the Green Fee and Foam Ban Proposals moving rapidly through the public comment period and to seeing it approved and to go into effect on Jan 1, 2009 as proposed.

The emails:

• richard.conlin@seattle.gov
• sally.clark@seattle.gov
• tim.burgess@seattle.gov
• jan.drago@seattle.gov
• jean.godden@seattle.gov
• bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
• nick.licata@seattle.gov
• richard.mciver@seattle.gov
• tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov

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